Originally written by Wngnut on 6/22/2009 11:46 PM
The painter at work said he would paint my Wing for $150. It sounded like a great deal to me. This guy does some pretty nice stuff. I started pulling off the plastic. I have everything accept the main fairing off. I think I'll have it painted on the bike. Those Goldwings sure don't look like much with there plastic off. Should be painted this weekend:o)
Wes
While you have the plastic off, here's a project for your spare time. How about a car alternator to permit you to run more lights on your vintage Goldwing? Link below.
I've seen one of these conversions up close and they really work. That way you get more power and you don't have to pull the engine if your alternator gives out.
The alternators on the 1500 Goldwings were also rather weak and unreliable. I had a 1500 for six years in the 1990s and rode it all over California, Nevada and Arizona. I got tired of fried alternators so I replaced it with a Compufure. It was a car alternator that just fit into the space of the original. 90 amps instead of 45!
Changing to a car alternator would be right up your alley. If I had a 1200 Wing, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Now back to our regularly scheduled thread. LOL.
Here's a link.
http://home.comcast.net/~rkekeis/Alternator/alternator.htm
Hey, Thanks for that link. My Stator is working fine now. But I think this winter my rig will get a upgrade. I was going to add it to the sidecar wheel, But I think I am going to add it to the bike. The car might get reverse? I'll have to see.
Wes
The weak link in the early Goldwings was the alternator. They didn't put out all that much to begin with and the stators would fry or break down after a while. This generally necessitated the removal of the engine to get at the rear housing where the alternator was placed. Nonetheless, I've heard that some owners were able to just remove most of the bolts and turn the engine sideways, leaving it in the frame to get at the alternator. It's still a bothersome job.
The alternator issue got so bad that Honda at one time had an extended warranty program for them in the 1980's. If you had the dealer do the exchange, they would even pay for the labor for the next one! LOL.
For someone with your cutting, welding and fitting capabilities, it would be rather easy work. The rest of the motorcycle was very durable. Many millions of miles have been ridden on Goldwings in general and the four cylinder ones in particular, having been around since 1975.
Something like this really get me going, what a neat set up and the engineering that went into it is to be appreciated, I wish I could so something like that to my Honda Shadow seeing how i'm on my 3rd stator.
Originally written by Shadow1100T on 6/23/2009 5:32 PM
Something like this really get me going, what a neat set up and the engineering that went into it is to be appreciated, I wish I could so something like that to my Honda Shadow seeing how i'm on my 3rd stator.
I have not heard that the Shadows have a problem with alternators but it's possible. In any case, the configuration of the Shadow engine doesn't lend itself to a conversion. The Goldwing with its flat engine and plastic shrouds is pretty much ideal for a car alternator.
What a job!!!!!!!!
I stil have a lot to do by Friday.
Here is a kind of crappy picture. I have my extra braces added in. I saw a hack someone else made with similar braces. This should be really strong.
I have a few more welds to finish then Off to paint:o)
Wes,,,I have to admitt that it's looking pretty darn good, your added braces pretty much covered everything, lateral, torsional and twist, the only thing that could be done if the body permits it is a diagonal brace from the top of the wheel mount to the bottom frame, that would stop any flexing that might occur but with your spring set up it might be over kill.
Are you going to put a step to aid entrance and exit to the car?, be a good time to do that also, maybe one with a fancy cut out that your so good at 🙂
Well most of the stuff is being painted. I just got back from dropping it off. I have the frame finishedo/ I had a couple spots where there was some porosity. The one I was able to repair. The other one I ground it out several times. But i couldn't seem to get it all out? I think it will be fine.
This weekend, I'm going to try and powder coat a couple parts. I have a couple things to finish on them then they'll be ready.
Later.
Some more parts showed up today o/ This is probably wrong on several levels, but I'm going to make a new exhaust for my wing. A bike should sound like a bike.
Hopefully this works:o)
Originally written by Wngnut on 6/27/2009 6:24 PM
Some more parts showed up today o/ This is probably wrong on several levels, but I'm going to make a new exhaust for my wing. A bike should sound like a bike.
Hopefully this works:o)
I owned a 1994 Goldwing 1500 for close to 5 years and put abut 50,000 miles on it. I have to say, what I liked the most about that bike was the absolute silence of its exhaust system. I'm not being critical here but you learn to appreciate quiet mufflers on a long trip.
The other thing one needs to be nindful of is any affect on the fuel air ratio and overall performance. My 2004 Harley Ultra runs beautifully with its stock engine and mufflers. I haven't even done the much-touted factory computer tuning download ($195.00!!!!, no thanks). If I were to change mufflers, it would cause the EFI system to run lean and could damage the engine. So typically, it's necessary for Harley owners at least to start changing the fuel mixture with electronic add-on devices such as the Harley Screamin' Eagle Race Tuner (SERT) or similar units. It gets exoensive.
It's getting even more interesting here in California now. I understand but haven't yet verified that a bill was recently passed to do motorcycle smog testing. That makes me very happy indeed that I haven't changed cam, mufflers, and all of the other things that are usually done. I probably have one fo the few stock motorcycles in California! If that makes me a Geezer, I'll happily accept the title.
(I wonder how they will do a test on motorcycles with sidecars if they have to put them on a dyno like they do with cars. I'm not taking the sidecar off just for a smog test. )
That said, the main reason I haven't done anything to the bike is that it's got almost perfect torque for a sidecar unit. The engine starts pulling niicely from 1,500 rpm and then cruises smoothly at 3,000 so I'm happy with what I have. When underway, I never run below 2,000 rpm and it's all good at that range or higher so as to avoid lugging. As you probably know, changes that provide greater performance generally raise the useful torque level to higher rpms, which is something I don't need.
The other issue is whether your passenger can stand a loud pipe on a trip. It can get tiresome after a while.
I'm not trying to rain on your parade - just giving you some of the reasons why I don't make too many changes to my bike.
I repeat, though, the work you've done on your sidecar is really amazing. I too love to work in metal but after seeing what you've had to do to build a sidecar, I'm glad mine came in a crate! LOL.
Keep up the good work. This is as fine a piece of technical writing and illustration as I've seen anywhere.
I don't want to turn this thread into an exhaust discussion, but we can fill in some post while we wait for more news on Wes's awesome project.
Me and my wife have Vulcan 900's. They make a lot of funny little engine noises, all normal but we wanted to masked them with a little louder exhaust. So there's a series of steps to "de-baffle" the exhaust and each step gradually increases the sound until you get to where you like it. I started by drilling out part of it and it was nice. But last week we decided to remove the main portion of the baffle. Now it's a nice growl but not too loud. But my rig went from 38 to 42 mpg. No noticeable loss of torque.
I understand the appreciation for quite exhaust. Mine was just to quite, for me at least.
Originally written by SinisterNerd on 6/28/2009 4:03 PM
I don't want to turn this thread into an exhaust discussion, but we can fill in some post while we wait for more news on Wes's awesome project.
Me and my wife have Vulcan 900's. They make a lot of funny little engine noises, all normal but we wanted to masked them with a little louder exhaust. So there's a series of steps to "de-baffle" the exhaust and each step gradually increases the sound until you get to where you like it. I started by drilling out part of it and it was nice. But last week we decided to remove the main portion of the baffle. Now it's a nice growl but not too loud. But my rig went from 38 to 42 mpg. No noticeable loss of torque.
I understand the appreciation for quite exhaust. Mine was just to quite, for me at least.
Yeah, I have no quarrel with someone who wants a better-sounding exhaust. The problem here in California is that if they begin testing and your exhaust system is non-standard, your machine will automatically fail. The technicians who do the tests have to put in certain responses as they do the computerized tests. All they are is "botton pushers" and they have no leeway in testing a car (or bike).
For example, I took my Dodge Dakota truck in for a smog test two years ago and they were going to fail it because it had a pinhole vacuum leak in the gas cap. I had to buy a new cap from the place where they were testing it to get them to even continue the test. It passed but that's the price I had to pay. Nice.
The point is that you modify motor vehicles in California at your own risk. the honeymoon is now over for motorcycles as well.
I've heard both 4 and 6 cyl GW's with pipes,non-stock and the sound is not at all impressive in fact for me it's more tinnie sounding and irritating than anything else, don't get me wrong I like the sound of a good sounding exhaust, a GW with pipes ain't one of them,,IMHO.
Originally written by Shadow1100T on 6/28/2009 5:12 PM
I've heard both 4 and 6 cyl GW's with pipes,non-stock and the sound is not at all impressive in fact for me it's more tinnie sounding and irritating than anything else, don't get me wrong I like the sound of a good sounding exhaust, a GW with pipes ain't one of them,,IMHO.
That's right. Most of the Goldwing riders will leave their exhaust alone, particlarly since the 2001 models that are fuel-injected. It's very rare to see anyone make any modifications to the engines or exhausts. I think that Wing Nut's 4 cylinder bike would be less bothered by different pipes than the newer ones.
